Leslie Silkos Ceremony: A Glimpse Into the Lives of the Pueblo People and Their Culture, Ceremonies and Traditions for Spiritual and Physical Healing
Leslie Silko's Ceremony is a highly informative and insightful work thatoffers a closer glimpse into the lives of Pueblo people and their culture.The author focuses on the various ceremonies and traditions that areconsidered essential for spiritual and physical healing in such traditionalsocieties. The story revolves around the disease that Tayo has contractedduring wartime and that appears to consume him completely. Through Tayo andtwo other young men Rocky and Emo, Silko has tried to reveal theinferiority complex that Pueblo youth suffers and the desperation withwhich they seek access to the world white. These three young men fromLaguna enlist in the Army to achieve their ultimate goal of being a part ofthe white world and so when the recruiter informs them that, "Anyone canfight for America, even you boys."(p. 64), the three young men arenaturally ecstatic. But their dreams, hopes and aspirations are rudelyshaken and shattered by their experience in the army during the SecondWorld War. Rocky dies on the battleground, Emo turns to alcohol to erasepainful memories and Tayo becomes a victim of severe post-traumatic stress "He couldn't vomit any more, and the little face was still the
That way they don't have tothink about what has happened inside themselves. This belief is evident from NightSwan's words when she tries to convince Tayo that he is on the right path. But after the white people came, elements in this world began to shift; and it became necessary to create new ceremonies. This linksignifies reconciliation with the world around one's self. "(74)Similarly for things to have a richer and deeper meaning, they must existnot like a lone yacht caught in a whirlwind but as part of the waves thatmake the huge sea. The old man only made him certain of something he had feared all along, something in the old stories. Then she picks "a threadoff the bottom of her apron" (70). Rememberunraveling the web is not part of the ceremony; it is only a preparatorystep for ritual to begin and have an impact on Tayo. This is exactly what wesee in Leslie Silko's novel ceremony where the author has carefully woven aweb to unfold her main story and objectives. "(227) She is the symbol of Corn Mother. " (38)Tayo is left with absolute no options. Whenyou turn them loose again, they go running all over.
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